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[Q] Problems with oleophobic coating inconsistencies?

While similar to the other thread regarding the coating wearing off, I seem to be suffering a different problem with various Nexus S's I've gone through over the past two weeks. I'll do my best to describe the problem, but bear with me as I'll try to be as detailed as possible.
I typically keep my phone in one of three places. It's always either in my inside pocket of my pea coat, one of the angled pockets on the outside of the same coat, or it's in the right pocket of my slacks. It is never in these pockets with any other objects and has either been naked, in the Nexus One pouch, or in the G1 pouch as recommended by several other XDAers.
My first Nexus S formed a pattern right over the menu button on the bottom of the phone. They resembled scratches at first glance, but if you were to completely clean the phone with a microfiber cloth and some rubbing alcohol, they would disappear entirely. Even in most lighting situations, you would never be able to see the pattern that formed. It only became easily visible after I had used the phone and smudged it up with fingerprints. Thinking they were scuffs, I also tried to rub them out with other cloths and solutions, none of which helped whatsoever.
This pattern over the menu button drove me crazy enough that I exchanged it with Best Buy.
My second Nexus S did well for about a week until I noticed a similar pattern forming near the top of the phone by the earpiece. It was three or four slightly curved horizontal lines that all behaved just as the previous pattern did on my last Nexus S.
I traced the cause of these lines back to the G1 pouch as the inseam of the case was rubbing against the screen. Thus, I no longer use the pouch anymore.
Still within the holiday return period, I decided to exchange this model as well. I currently have a brand-spankin' new Nexus S with zero screen defects that I have been hesitant to put in ANY pouch or keep in ANY pocket.
I would opt for a screen protector at this point, but that really defeats the purpose of having the oleophobic coating in the first place. I also have the Tech21 d3o pouch and two of the generic Samsung pouches from Hong Kong set to arrive in the next couple weeks.
Has anybody else noticed this with their Nexus S? I would post pics but I returned both phones with the issue and I have not a camera that would have been able to capture such detail.

Stop using chemicals to clean your screen.

ikon8 said:
Stop using chemicals to clean your screen.
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Click to collapse
Why? Is battery acid bad for it or something?

Mine has a spot where it kinda got messed up. but if you wipe the oils off that spot, you can't see it at all. It annoys me, and I've thought of exchanging it. But my thinking it's just going to happen on the next phone anyway. I don't want to exchange it for a phone that might really be defective, so for now I am trying to not think about it. After all, it's a phone, and over time it's gonna get dings and scratched anyway.... Just like a $50k sports car that you use every day. It's inevitable.

That's about where I'm at with this problem too, except I really didn't think cosmetic defects like this would happen within the first month!
I kept my Nexus One significantly longer than any other phone I've ever owned and the only cosmetic damage it ever incurred was when my girlfriend threw hers on the bed and it landed on mine. Even that incident only caused a minor scuff in the corner of the phone. The screen, Teflon, metal bezel, all of them remained perfect.

Yeah, I hear you. My droid 1 lasted me from launch date up until I got my nexus s. Never put a screen protector on it, just kept it in my pants pocket. It's been dropped, has a couple dings, but the screen is perfect. I cleaned it with my shirt, jeans or whatever.
I'm just hoping that if the coating on the nexus s gets worse and wears more, that it can be totally removed with no traces left behind. I don't really care too much about finger prints, as i'll just wipe them off.

if you pay top dollar for a phone, then you should take the extra steps to purchase proper cleaning solutions for your device. The reason why some people are experiencing this problem is because they are probably using solvents or abrasive cloths that damages the oleophobic coating. For example, like using rubbing alcohol. This stuff is just not wearing off, people are rubbing it off.
Sent from my Nexus S

@j.bruha: maybe your problem could depends on your after shave (i.e. on your second phone that had problems on top) or on an hand care cream (even too much aggressive)... I think it's very strange that you have the same problem with 3 terminals in less than a week.

Completely unrelated, but how do you like the Tech 21 pouch? Would you mind starting a thread with a couple pictures? I know a lot of people have been asking about Tech 21 and their d3o stuff.

princeasi said:
if you pay top dollar for a phone, then you should take the extra steps to purchase proper cleaning solutions for your device. The reason why some people are experiencing this problem is because they are probably using solvents or abrasive cloths that damages the oleophobic coating. For example, like using rubbing alcohol. This stuff is just not wearing off, people are rubbing it off.
Sent from my Nexus S
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That's not true at all. Many people who have had these issues said they never used any chemicals or liquids to clean the screen.

That is correct. These "chemicals" were used after the lines started forming. To be more descriptive about said chemicals, I used medical alcohol squares and wipes designed specifically for phones that I picked up from work to try to clean the screen after I noticed the damage. These same chemicals were used on all of the Nexus Ones that came through my household and none of them ever showed any signs of damage at all.
As I said in the original post, these are solid lines that seem to have shown up due to something pressing against the phone either repeatedly or hard enough to make these inconsistencies, despite the fact that all of the phones have been exceptionally well taken care of. Again, I won't call them scratches since they only show up in certain lighting conditions and after smudges start to form from usage. I've seen scratches on a Vibrant I borrowed before I bought the Nexus S and this is totally different. The only similarity is that they're straight lines and not entire sections or hairline scratches like the back of the phone collects too easily.

booyakasha said:
Completely unrelated, but how do you like the Tech 21 pouch? Would you mind starting a thread with a couple pictures? I know a lot of people have been asking about Tech 21 and their d3o stuff.
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Click to collapse
As soon as it arrives, I'll fire up a new thread with some pictures of it. It's supposed to arrive sometime next week.

Luxferro said:
That's not true at all. Many people who have had these issues said they never used any chemicals or liquids to clean the screen.
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Click to collapse
This is what I said " they are probably using solvents or abrasive cloths that damages the oleophobic coating." It's already proven the NS doesn't have gorilla glass so if you continuously go thru your day without a screen protector then micro-scratches will occur through daily usage of taking it in and out of your pockets, purses, messenger bag, etc. If you're using harsh solvents to clean your screen, then you risk damaging the screen. If you're using abrasive cloths, you risk damaging the screen. Even constant swyping with your finger, eventually the dust particles will scratch it up, plain and simple. The first thread I saw of this, you can tell from the swirls on the screen, more so than not, he rubbed something abrasive or harsh chemicals into his screen and screwed it up himself.
Sent from my Nexus S

princeasi said:
This is what I said " they are probably using solvents or abrasive cloths that damages the oleophobic coating." It's already proven the NS doesn't have gorilla glass so if you continuously go thru your day without a screen protector then micro-scratches will occur through daily usage of taking it in and out of your pockets, purses, messenger bag, etc. If you're using harsh solvents to clean your screen, then you risk damaging the screen. If you're using abrasive cloths, you risk damaging the screen. Even constant swyping with your finger, eventually the dust particles will scratch it up, plain and simple. The first thread I saw of this, you can tell from the swirls on the screen, more so than not, he rubbed something abrasive or harsh chemicals into his screen and screwed it up himself.
Sent from my Nexus S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you work for best buy?...lol

j.bruha said:
While similar to the other thread regarding the coating wearing off, I seem to be suffering a different problem with various Nexus S's I've gone through over the past two weeks. I'll do my best to describe the problem, but bear with me as I'll try to be as detailed as possible.
I typically keep my phone in one of three places. It's always either in my inside pocket of my pea coat, one of the angled pockets on the outside of the same coat, or it's in the right pocket of my slacks. It is never in these pockets with any other objects and has either been naked, in the Nexus One pouch, or in the G1 pouch as recommended by several other XDAers.
My first Nexus S formed a pattern right over the menu button on the bottom of the phone. They resembled scratches at first glance, but if you were to completely clean the phone with a microfiber cloth and some rubbing alcohol, they would disappear entirely. Even in most lighting situations, you would never be able to see the pattern that formed. It only became easily visible after I had used the phone and smudged it up with fingerprints. Thinking they were scuffs, I also tried to rub them out with other cloths and solutions, none of which helped whatsoever.
This pattern over the menu button drove me crazy enough that I exchanged it with Best Buy.
My second Nexus S did well for about a week until I noticed a similar pattern forming near the top of the phone by the earpiece. It was three or four slightly curved horizontal lines that all behaved just as the previous pattern did on my last Nexus S.
I traced the cause of these lines back to the G1 pouch as the inseam of the case was rubbing against the screen. Thus, I no longer use the pouch anymore.
Still within the holiday return period, I decided to exchange this model as well. I currently have a brand-spankin' new Nexus S with zero screen defects that I have been hesitant to put in ANY pouch or keep in ANY pocket.
I would opt for a screen protector at this point, but that really defeats the purpose of having the oleophobic coating in the first place. I also have the Tech21 d3o pouch and two of the generic Samsung pouches from Hong Kong set to arrive in the next couple weeks.
Has anybody else noticed this with their Nexus S? I would post pics but I returned both phones with the issue and I have not a camera that would have been able to capture such detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Off topic but how long do we have to exchange the Nexus S

Android Touch said:
Off topic but how long do we have to exchange the Nexus S
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Best Buy's return period was extended until January 31st for everything purchased during the holiday season. If you bought it recently, you have 30 days from the date of purchase.

Luxferro said:
Do you work for best buy?...lol
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Click to collapse
If you must know....read a few of my post in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877497 and i'm sure you're intelligent enough to make a calculated guess.

Great thinking outside the box. Maybe he is shaving with Occam's razor? HAR HAR!
syncro said:
@j.bruha: maybe your problem could depends on your after shave (i.e. on your second phone that had problems on top) or on an hand care cream (even too much aggressive)... I think it's very strange that you have the same problem with 3 terminals in less than a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Not sure if this is the same thing happening to anyone, but this has happened on two out of the four phones I have had (others had touch screen issues, right side of screen would stop responding) Basically what happens is after about 4 days a area developes on the screen that looks just a little darker than the rest of the screen. If I touch it, it leaves a finger print. If I wipe it, the print kinda disapears, but there is still a very faint dark mark. I have only used a microfiber cloth to clean all of my phones, and I've never had this issue with any of my other phones including my Nexus one and Vibrant.
As you can see on this phone it forms in the shape of a tear drop. My other phone it happened next to the ear piece and was much bigger.
IMG_1535
IMG_1539
Curious to see if anyone is having this issue.

j.bruha said:
While similar to the other thread regarding the coating wearing off, I seem to be suffering a different problem with various Nexus S's I've gone through over the past two weeks. I'll do my best to describe the problem, but bear ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm having the same issue as you have. It's happened two of the four phones I've been through. The first time near the ear piece, on the new one, on the bottom left of the actual screen.

[Q] To Screen Protect...Or Not To Screen Protect

With Gorilla Glass 2 on the Infinity, what is your opinion on placing a screen protector on this device? And if 'Yes,' which one?
I have one on my phone and it has been great, but does a tablet like this warrant a screen protector.
For myself, I plan on having the device in a rooCase when it becomes available.
Thanks for your input.

I had a protector on my NexusOne that has Gorilla V1.
Dumbest idea ever!
I removed it about a year ago. It fell down so many times, no scratches.
Screen is like when I bought it.
I don't think you need a protector with Gorilla anymore.

if you take it on the go a lot - screen protect it
if you have kids - screen protect it
if you like to set it up and down on stands - screen protect it
if you dont have a leather case - screen protect it.
if you just like the awsome smooth feeling of the glass, then leave it naked and touch it all you want

sag365 said:
With Gorilla Glass 2 on the Infinity, what is your opinion on placing a screen protector on this device? And if 'Yes,' which one?
I have one on my phone and it has been great, but does a tablet like this warrant a screen protector.
For myself, I plan on having the device in a rooCase when it becomes available.
Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen Protectors usually make for a tight fit with docks. You may have to do a little trimming around the docking points depending on the protector you choose.

When I carry it arround the house, I don't need a protector, Gorilla Glass doesn't seem to get scratches easily (nor does the back of my Infinity, despite what some said).
For going out I either take the dock which encloses the screen within the whole thing or I take TranSleeve (originally meant for the Prime), which is helpful for typing or watching media (two standing positions). I don't see a point of having this kind of sleeve for both (although this seems nice: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28593251&postcount=19), although I have bought the cheapest (~$3) neoprene etui/sleeve for 10" netbooks available (somehow they tend to be cheaper than the same products for 10" tablets): http://vegacom.eu/data/gfx/pictures/large/6/6/9566_7.jpg?337768
This is more for suddently-dropping-the-bag-on-the-floor kind of situation than to avoid scratches, but I feel better with these precautions (I also carry a few books in the backpack quite often, so it seems safer to have some kind of cover).

d14b0ll0s said:
When I carry it arround the house, I don't need a protector, Gorilla Glass doesn't seem to get scratches easily (nor does the back of my Infinity, despite what some said).
For going out I either take the dock which encloses the screen within the whole thing or I take TranSleeve (originally meant for the Prime), which is helpful for typing or watching media (two standing positions).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are we talking screen protectors or cases here? I'm thinking I'm going to grab a slip case for the tablet/dock to just slip it in something light.

KilerG said:
Are we talking screen protectors or cases here? I'm thinking I'm going to grab a slip case for the tablet/dock to just slip it in something light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was answering the question if one should protect the screen with gorilla glass, but ok, good point. I would never use something that would blur the image on the Infinity, but I can understand somebody would want to do it to be able to use the tablet in direct sunlight. But to avoid scratches? Hell no!

You can some brutal things to gorilla glass without scratching it. Most people don't need a screen protector. The huge elephant in the room is dust, which might surprise some folks who don't have to live with much of it. If you live in an especially dusty region, you should seriously consider protecting even a GG2 screen. The glass has not been invented that won't scratch if the right piece of dust gets dragged across it just so. Hammering a nail with an HTC one x is impressive (reference to a youtube vid I saw once), but not the most practical test. Some dust particles are harder than nails, I assure you.

d14b0ll0s said:
I was answering the question if one should protect the screen with gorilla glass, but ok, good point. I would never use something that would blur the image on the Infinity, but I can understand somebody would want to do it to be able to use the tablet in direct sunlight. But to avoid scratches? Hell no!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I'll put one on mine. It's not gong to get thrown around like my phone does lol. My phone has to have a screen protector...

An anti glare screen protector could be a good idea
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

fortunz said:
You can some brutal things to gorilla glass without scratching it. Most people don't need a screen protector. The huge elephant in the room is dust, which might surprise some folks who don't have to live with much of it. If you live in an especially dusty region, you should seriously consider protecting even a GG2 screen. The glass has not been invented that won't scratch if the right piece of dust gets dragged across it just so. Hammering a nail with an HTC one x is impressive (reference to a youtube vid I saw once), but not the most practical test. Some dust particles are harder than nails, I assure you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely +1 concerning the dust, but concerning the damage reduction potential of Gorilla Glass: when I got my LG Optimus 2x about one and a half years ago, I rubbed the tip of a knife on the screen (Gorilla Glass v1) to and fro in a ballsy whim during a dinner with friends. Turns out it was a bad idea: although I have since upgraded to the SGS2 and the LG is now carried around by my wife, it still bears a nice mark (scratch).
Although, with a probability close to certainty, a normal screen would've been utterly destroyed (I wasn't exactly gentle), the potential for damage is still there and it doesn't even take visceral violence. It is chemically hardened glass, it can take a beating but it is only an extra line of defense.
For the sake of on-topic conversation: I have never used a screen protector on any device I own. I take good care of them and mostly use them eitehr indoors or in a shaded area (inside the train, for example). If you'd need outdoor visibility, consider it. If you have the dock, think about a good sleeve or case (I have bought an relatively cheap leather one on eBay and, although it does add significant bulk, it does a commendable job as far as protection goes).

fortunz said:
You can some brutal things to gorilla glass without scratching it. Most people don't need a screen protector. The huge elephant in the room is dust, which might surprise some folks who don't have to live with much of it. If you live in an especially dusty region, you should seriously consider protecting even a GG2 screen. The glass has not been invented that won't scratch if the right piece of dust gets dragged across it just so. Hammering a nail with an HTC one x is impressive (reference to a youtube vid I saw once), but not the most practical test. Some dust particles are harder than nails, I assure you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dust? Really? Have you seen the Gorilla Glass 2 vendor video? They threw everything at it but the kitchen sink. If dust was ever to be their demise, Gorilla would lose ALL credibility with their product. I'm hardly worried.

I love the "Guerilla" typo, it should be an extra-hardened version! ;D

My post here shows why you'd use a anti-glare film on the TF700T.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28362111&postcount=2806
When I got mine I found it was almost impossible to use out on the pattio without the anti-glare film.
The glass is simply a perfect reflector giving very crisp and detailed images of everything around and abowe you overshadowing the data on the screen.
The same issue faces almost all tabs and phones though.
The anti-glare screen does do odd things to the pixels due to the high density, but overall it works.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28366344&postcount=2815

xRevilatioNx said:
Dust? Really? Have you seen the Gorilla Glass 2 vendor video? They threw everything at it but the kitchen sink. If dust was ever to be their demise, Gorilla would lose ALL credibility with their product. I'm hardly worried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GG is tough and great, but you underestimate the power of dust.

+1 for an Anti-glare protector. Not for it's "protection" qualities, but for it's anti-glare qualities... I just got my TF700 and the screen is beautiful, but very reflective... Plus the anti-glares help reduce finger prints significantly. Just get a good one - you usually get what you pay for when it comes to anti-glare protectors.
However, I do worry that it may interfere with the screen quality too much on the TF700 though (they usually create some level of "pixelation" effect which may ruin the TF700 "experience" - not sure as I don't have one yet!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

I refer to the effect of anti-glares as the rainbow effect. It acts a little like a prism per pixel, especially noticeable on white screens as you'd expect. Some people just see it as noise. Some don't see it.
I'm undecided about whether or not its worth it. It always has been before (bonus: fewer prints), but I've never had a screen this beautiful before either, and I'm not sure I want to obscure it.

My argument is pretty simple: the Infinity is so pretty I would never want to blemish it with any permanent type of screen protector. And it gets so hot in direct sunlight during summer here anyway that I prefer to stay indoors with it ;>

d14b0ll0s said:
My argument is pretty simple: the Infinity is so pretty I would never want to blemish it with any permanent type of screen protector. And it gets so hot in direct sunlight during summer here anyway that I prefer to stay indoors with it ;>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen have too much resistance it grabs the finger.
It's not as smooth to touch on ipad screen, didn't anyone noticed it?

~ not sure WHY there is so much confusion............
Infinity comes with Gorilla GLASS ....>> best best thing since slice bread ...
Like adding a bumper bar to a TANK ..............
IMHO =adding 'protector sticky thing = sounds , looks DUMB , and not to mention COMPLETE WAISTED CASH ....
** send me that 20-40$ pls ** Lol lol
**********peace ********

After a little more than one week, the bezel lost a lot of its rotation resistance

After owning the Gear S2 Classic for a little over a week, I noticed yesterday that the bezel is now a lot easier to rotate then it used to. I am concerned that something is wrong or wearing out prematurely. I kinda liked the amount of resistance it had before. It is still functioning but the rotation clicks are less noticeable and it takes almost not effort to rotate the bezel, making it feel cheap compared to how it was initially. I am still under the 15 days return policies at Best Buy. I was wondering if anyone has noticed this kind of changes over time? For example I think I needed to grasp with two fingers to rotate before and now I can do it with just one.

I have the opposite problem. After owning the Gear S2 3G for several months, the bezel gets sticky after turning it a few times, like I'm tightening a screw. If I continue turning the bezel or reverse the direction, it becomes loose again. I put a few drops of 3-in-1 oil in the gap between the bezel and the watch, and it helped the problem. However, after a week it started feeling sticky again.

Dont you make it worser by putting oil in there? Dust can get everywhere. Dust and oil isnt really a good mixture.

Oxizee said:
Dont you make it worser by putting oil in there? Dust can get everywhere. Dust and oil isnt really a good mixture.
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Click to collapse
Not really. 3-in-1 oil is made to lubricate moving parts and clean tools/guns. The bezel turns nicely after applying a few drops of 3-in-1 oil, but it doesn't stay that way for more than a few weeks.
Another poster pointed out the Gear S2 is water resistant to level IP68. I tried cleaning it with warm water and some dish washing liquid, but I got the same result as using the 3-in-1 oil. I guess I just need to clean the watch every few weeks.

Zagzagel said:
Not really. 3-in-1 oil is made to lubricate moving parts and clean tools/guns. The bezel turns nicely after applying a few drops of 3-in-1 oil, but it doesn't stay that way for more than a few weeks.
Another poster pointed out the Gear S2 is water resistant to level IP68. I tried cleaning it with warm water and some dish washing liquid, but I got the same result as using the 3-in-1 oil. I guess I just need to clean the watch every few weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was me
Given that we don't know anything about the materials or construction of the seals, I wouldn't put anything other than water -- which the watch it expressly designed to tolerate. 3-in-1 is great for lubricating metal bearings like door hinges; I wouldn't introduce it (or any other lubricant/solvent) into a mechanism sealed against water intrusion, where there will be rubber/silicone parts that might not tolerate the oil.

dwallersv said:
That was me
Given that we don't know anything about the materials or construction of the seals, I wouldn't put anything other than water -- which the watch it expressly designed to tolerate. 3-in-1 is great for lubricating metal bearings like door hinges; I wouldn't introduce it (or any other lubricant/solvent) into a mechanism sealed against water intrusion, where there will be rubber/silicone parts that might not tolerate the oil.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. If the waterproof seals are made of rubber or plastic, a silicone oil should be used instead of petroleum. However, I'm just going to follow your advice and use soap and water when it gets sticky.

Zagzagel said:
Good point. If the waterproof seals are made of rubber or plastic, a silicone oil should be used instead of petroleum. However, I'm just going to follow your advice and use soap and water when it gets sticky.
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't even use any soap either unless necessary. While soap is far less risky than an oil, if water will do the trick alone that's the best answer.
Incrementalism, my friend Use a little soap only if necessary...

Whitestone dome review "A real review"1

Seems like all the "Reviews" are nothing more then install video's of people saying oh its so amazing. But if you dig deeper you will find issues that a proper review would of find easy. So lets review it.
Little about my self. I am and Engineer in the fiber optics industry. I wonk on the absolute faster detectors available. We use UV optical adhesives every day. So needless to say i know a thing or two on this topic.
The concept is great and when done right the best way to attach a screen protector. But this comes at a cost. Cheap out on anything and it will show. So lets look at this.
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
-9H Hardness. "Shakes head" No..Its not. They need to stop claiming this every company. Its not 9H.
-Beveled edges. This is a must. Ask anyone who has one that is not beveled how easy they chip.
-UV curing light is a good design and has plenty of LED's to cure the adhesive. "5w max" Honestly im not seeing those being close to 1w LED's. If people want i'll take apart the light but no heat sinking as far as i can tell. So im guessing 3v 60ma .5w each total max output 3w. And honestly 3w is fine. Its very thin and easy to cure.
Fixture is great and works very well. No complaints on that. Just watch a few videos and read the instructions and you will do fine. The Fixture is well thought out so hats off to engineers who did that.
The ugly. This is where things get bad. This is where you can see the corners that were cut and boy did they cut them.
-Dust removal sticker. Don't use them. Cheap sticker and will leave residue on the screen. Save your self some time and just put them in the trash.
-Cleaning cloth. Not optical quality. Again put it in the trash it will just put stuff on the display. Cheap fabric not a quality optical cleaning cloth.
-Alcohol wipe...Well the directions say that but the wipes included are Ethanol...Please tell me these are not medical grade. If so then they have some additives. Well again trash it and use some 95% or higher Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure no color or sent has been added. You want as pure as you can get.
-Absorption pads. Now i would love to say trash them. But you need them. Make sure you give them a good rub down to remove all the lose fibers on them. And give the long fibers that hang off after a little trim. You do not want one to get under the screen or at the edge.
-Dimples on the underside of the protector. You don't need these. They do nothing but put 4 contact points to your phones display. The adhesive will flow an even coat.
-The worlds cheapest UV adhesive...Guys its bad...Real bad. Give you an idea. In bulk the quality optical adhesive is expensive. Well you get what you pay for or in Whitestone's case you don't get what you do not pay for. I searched and i found the supplier for there adhesive. How cheap is it? Well its $1 per 30ml. Stuff we use is $30 per oz. or 29.9ml. Yup that explains everything. This is why they can give you so much and still keep that price point. But for this you want less but higher quality. Combine that with tubes that are not 100% air tight and you are begging for problems. Also keep in mine UV Adhesive's have a shelf life and exposure to oxygen age them faster.
Lots of people complain about the delamination. This is from bad UV adhesive. Keep in mind you have a bare glass surface you are attaching to a glass surface with an oleophobic coating. This coating does after the adhesion of the adhesive. So you really need the proper quality adhesive. The adhesive they use never fully cures. If you check out my video in the Deamination topic you can see even after curing then putting 200w of UV on it for an addition 20sec with a proper industrial UV curing station it never fully cures. Multiple kits i have tested they all do this. But its $1 per 30ml so what do you expect.
You will see pictures of the optical property's of the adhesive. It is my opinion that it is not optical grade. Also you will see a picture of the delamination.
Overall this is a 4-10. Held back by the extremely low quality UV adhesive. The most important part is the cheapest. This is why they cut the notch in the protector. Because it would affect the caners where a proper optical adhesive would have zero affect. I'm disappointed. This was hyped so much but no one really looked at it. It's a great concept held back by cut corners. The proper adhesive this would be a 8-10. This method with the proper optical grade adhesive could do a true full cover screen protector then it would be a 10/10. But i do not recommend this. Price is to high for the corners that were cut. The adhesive issue really needs to be addressed because i would take a few other protectors over this.
Message to Whitestone.
I tested Adhesives from 3 kits. Results were all the same. All the kits were ordered at different times as 2 were from Amazon and one was direct from you. I have identified this adhesive not long ago and this is typical for it. However if you want to play we only use the highest quality materials card then you can go ahead and send me a tube of it. It can be in the manufacturers tube or the tubes that come in the kits. I do not want another kit im only interested in testing this adhesive and i will give you one chance to test some prior and send it to me. I will then report my finding's on here and make a note of it here. If you would like to work together on finding a cost effective quality optical adhesive i have contacts with not only the distributes for these but also with the companies that make the highest quality optical grade UV adhesives in the industry. I do not want nothing in return i will work with you for free to fix this product so that future phones can benefit from it and i have the option to easily order a quality kit. I want a 100% coverage protector and working together this can be done. There is potential here and it is with the system developed for the install and that is what makes the product stand out. My work has a building in SoCal. I go out there a few times a year and i am more then willing to come visit your office why i am out there and we can talk.
Now i know i will get the "Mines perfect best ever" post. But those post mean nothing. You have not tested the adhesive. I have. You just have not had any issues with it yet and you may never have them. But i went ahead and i tested this. Same results every time and i know what adhesive they use now.

So, would you say this thing is a pass?

Thanks for the detailed review and focusing on everything, not JUST the adhesive.
I still got mine applied to my phone, and well.. it is there. The time it starts wearing off the edges, maybe I will apply the second spare one just because I already bought it. But yeah, a full, really full screen coverage one with perfect optical properties would be awesome to have!

felloffthetruck said:
So, would you say this thing is a pass?
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I won't advise anyone to buy or not to buy this. Thats for you to decide. I'll answer any questions you have thought. I will say that I will not use this for reasons I posted. I won't buy another one until changes are made at the minimum in there selection of adheasive.

Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)

irieblue said:
Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)
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Will post that when I finish testing the samples I have.

bignazpwns said:
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
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Me a bit nitpicking here, but...
Weird, the part of optical physics that I learned back ... long ago.. taught quite clearly that if there are any surfaces with different optical properties on each side, it will have an impact. And I'm pretty sure the adhesives do not match (optically) exactly with either glass it touches (let alone both). Whether those effects will be significant enough to be visible in the photos depends on the whole optical path (and sensor's properties), though.
Since none of the surfaces have proper coatings aimed for optical performance (more for anti fingerprint etc.), and especially the protector glass (the internal material, not the coatings) not designed for optics, I'd expect ever so slightly more lens flaring and similar effects. (If there would be a flash LED for the front camera, it could get really messy, but Note 9 seems to use the whole display for front side "flashing", which reduces the spot brightness near the camera lens compared to a LED flash.)
The adhesive filling the space between the phone's glass and protector's glass does make the effect much lesser than with a protector that sits a tiny bit above with a tiny air gap. So in that sense, with these liquid adhesive type protectors, I'd expect the effects to be indeed mostly ignorable. But not zero, per se.
For the other sensors than camera, the effect can be considered zero, since they are measuring mostly (more or less) spatial averages to begin with. A bit of fuzziness doesn't change their results. Hmm. though I don't know how the iris-camera works.
All that said, I'd still say to choose a protector that covers the lens area(s). A single scratch on the phone's glass over the lens can make a worse effect than a protector does.
Also, (me partially countering the point of having an effect): I have currently a really bad example of a protector myself; a normal cheap protector with a typical dot grid on bottom surface, a normal (non-smooth) adhesive even on the area of the front camera lens, not a perfect fit by shape, etc. That is, I can see the non-smooth stuff between the glass layers (when display is black, and on the sensor spots). Yet, the photos come out ok, so things can obviously be pretty darn crappy and still be ok for the front camera needs. Though, I haven't zoomed in or done comparative tests in more challenging lighting situations. (I will do better tests once other protectors arrive; I need to keep this one on for now, for its main task of protecting.)

Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.

Bullitt3309 said:
Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.
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I can't get the same protection from a $12 protector. So how does it beat those in terms of protection? It offers no more protection then any other on the market. Infact the Zag elite offers more protection for the same price. The thicker gel adheasive offers significantly more impact protection. Much harder to put on and remove air bubbles but in terms of protection this is vastly superior. Where zag went wrong is not telling people how soft the adhesive is so they push down on it as hard as they can to get a bubble out and it cracks. And then they had to gimp it with some unnecessary bezzles that cover a bit of the display
Bottom line is the Dome is $20 over priced. The adhesive is trash and the olophobic coating is the worst I have ever seen. No excuses for this on something that sells it's self as premium. It's not. It's the same quality as the $12 Alibaba's and personally I would get one of those. Warranty is nothing since you could still get one on Alibaba shippped for the price you will pay for the warranty replacement. And it uses the same trash adheasive.
When you buy "Loca" it's trash from bad batches that they sell on places like Amazon or Alibaba or to places like Whitestone at a heavy discount because it's defective. So you are already useing a defective product from the start. These are facts. I tested these and posted those info. It's trash they pay $1 per 30ml of those stuff. And they call it Loca because it's not an optical adheasive. It makes it sound fancy because they can't call it a UV optical adheasive. Because it's not optical. But it's "optical cured" so Loca.
Facts are facts. I proven this adheasive is trash and defective from multiple kits. I'll test any of it. Got any left I'll test that Whitestone can send me some I'll test that because I know it's trash and it's from batches that were not mixed right. Multiple people have committed on this issues that's why I started testing this and looking into it because what they had in the prictures we seen before. Hell I can tell you exactly what is wrong with it. However working with a supplier when we had that issue I signed a NDA as part of them telling us every detail about it. Because we needed to know why it did that, when it started, how to test for it, how it will be fixed etc.
Like I said. If you use it and like it that's great. No problems with it that's even better. Get a case drop it face down. On a hard surface so it only hits the case then protector is unsupported and you will have delamination. I did this as part of the big testing video I'm doing for this. 2 drops it started.
Also I'm willing to work with them. All my test data as well as some samples I'll send to them or take to then when I'm in California. I love there install method and it will be a home run when the corners that we're cut are fixed. They pay $1 per 30ml of adheasive I can get them a bulk order that ends up being $1.75 per 30ml if they buy bulk lots. That's optical grade I'll send them the contract info and the sales rep I know for there. Use that and it's fixed. I tested that adheasive on this also and it works just like it should. I really want them to improve it.
As of right now now on my desk I have 35 different uv optical adheasives and more on the way. One manufacturer is even making a custom adheasive to test for this application. This all started as a simple test it and see what's wrong with it but due to all the people asking it's gotten much bigger. I hope Whitestone reaches out to me and I can get them the test information I have so they can improve the product.

Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace whatsoever of the "new" affected region..

gamekill said:
Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace
whatsoever of the "new" affected region..
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That's delamination from defective uv adheasive. As in my video you can see it cures about 50% and then still leaves some wet uncureable adheasive behind and is in some cases acting as an indexing gel. The delamination is still there you will need a microscope to see but masked by that adheasive that's wet acting as an indexing gel.
I got a gear VR on the way. It's on loan from a user to test it with another adheasive. I'll test this and see how it holds up. Run the phone hot and do multiple install and removals then do a few battery drains why it's in the vr. Glad this is a work phone and not my personal phone.

I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

harlenm said:
I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
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Yeah same here.

sefrcoko said:
Yeah same here.
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Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.

Any product recommendation or where we can get the good loca glue?

I personally would be interested in a tube of high quality adhesive if anyone is able to source some. Perhaps the OP would be able to point us to a supplier?

bignazpwns said:
Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.
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Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue

sefrcoko said:
Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue
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I posted this before. I will say Whitestone sent out a replacement kit for it for free and we're very easy to deal with and gave me very fast responses. So the service is great even though people say it's bad my experience was great. I reached out to them on Facebook and not via website so maybe Facebook is the way to go. And I noted all that when I made that post.
I would do the same for the adhesive but I know they can send out 1,000 kits they will all have this issue because the Adheasive used is from defective batches that had issues with the mixing process. I mean it works...but you will never get a full cure and will have issues under the right conditions and those are relatively common. But some people may never experience this.
But all of them so far have had pretty bad olophobic coating's. One is like it had none at all. One had the coating burned "pic in the previous post" and 2 just meh. Nothing great. But that's fine because I use the leftover ceramic coating I used for my car on my screens since it's better and thicker so I usually get over a year and 1/2 before I see any decrease in preformance. But this Stull is around $400 for a small bottle for a car and after not much is left. But Walmart sells a few kits. One is a great kit and only $12. If people wanna know what kit I'll let you know. Around here only one a almao had this kit in stock. "gerogia" the rest had other brands.

I'm one of the 'lucky' ones who has had no problems whatsoever. Going on three months and still getting compliments on how nice my screen looks. It's like I don't have a screen protector on at all.

I'm completely dissapointed from Whitestone.
I have been using it for weeks and yesterday, (all of a sudden) the tempered glass started to have a small line in the left edge of the phone and it seems like it is kinda lifted.
Unfortunately, the company wont help me, because I didnt bought it from their authorised stores
https://ibb.co/9s7jcV7

Glass back is too fragile.

The easy solution should be the back cover in plastic. But chinese makers are not making this. No idea why not. So we have to find solution our selves. Do you have a 3d printer? Or are you expert at doing craft projects? Can you make plastic back covers for those of us who want one?
Edit:
(anybody who wants to know - I made a cover with a plastic $1 folder. The plastic is soft but its tough stuff. Not easily punctured. Phone feels great on the hand and it feels slimmer. I still have to add some modifications to make it sturdier and make sure that it can withstand a fall without damaging the battery. No idea how to do that. I'll figure it out. The plastic works fine as a shock absorber but if something were to hit the battery area directly then that might transfer some force on the battery. So I'll have to find some way to make that area of the cover slightly more rigid. or place a shock absorbent material directly on top of the battery. Gotta find the right material that doesn't insulate the heat in.)

I'd buy a 3d printed plastic back cover if anyone made it available.

blueberry.sky said:
I'd buy a 3d printed plastic back cover if anyone made it available.
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replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.

Dadud said:
replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.
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They are $10. But we don't want the glass back. :S I can put a vinyl wrap on it and manage the slippery surface. But I also know how ridiculously fragile it is. It also shatters and you get glass particles everywhere. So its not usable. I have thought about reinforcing the glass back with some sort of specialized tape like gorilla tape or glass filament tape or tent repair tape. You could use it that way. The glass would still be fragile. It'll crack under the circumstances it would have cracked otherwise. Basically the glass is very low quality. Motorola is likely lying if they say its some sort gorilla glass or something.

e4noob said:
They are $10. But we don't want the glass back. :S I can put a vinyl wrap on it and manage the slippery surface. But I also know how ridiculously fragile it is. It also shatters and you get glass particles everywhere. So its not usable. I have thought about reinforcing the glass back with some sort of specialized tape like gorilla tape or glass filament tape or tent repair tape. You could use it that way. The glass would still be fragile. It'll crack under the circumstances it would have cracked otherwise. Basically the glass is very low quality. Motorola is likely lying if they say its some sort gorilla glass or something.
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I don't know what you mean by "we" don't want the glass back. I like the glass back. I think it looks good and provides a good surface with which to grip the phone.

Dadud said:
replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.
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Yeah, I would expect custom 3d print to cost more than the mass produced Chinese replacements.
It's worth it. Glass backs are insane imo. It pushes design over function much too far. I don't need to show off with a my phone. Rather have a phone that isn't so fragile.

case? seems to keep mine in one piece lol

TheDevl said:
I don't know what you mean by "we" don't want the glass back. I like the glass back. I think it looks good and provides a good surface with which to grip the phone.
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You know there are owners of this phone who don't like the glass back.
Also, there is a heat factor with the glass back. I removed the glass and using a poorly made plastic cover right now and heat dropped by like 10 degrees. lol. It charges with normal charger at below 30c. With turbo charger it goes up to around 35c. Phone running for hours streaming hulu or something at max may be 37c. What's the temp like with the glass back on? 45c+?

buschris said:
case? seems to keep mine in one piece lol
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True. But don't use a case a lot of the times.

e4noob said:
You know there are owners of this phone who don't like the glass back.
Also, there is a heat factor with the glass back. I removed the glass and using a poorly made plastic cover right now and heat dropped by like 10 degrees. lol. It charges with normal charger at below 30c. With turbo charger it goes up to around 35c. Phone running for hours streaming hulu or something at max may be 37c. What's the temp like with the glass back on? 45c+?
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But one man does not an entire consumer base make.
As for the temperatures, right now I'm at 28c with glass back and a case. Temperatures have never quite been a worry for me.

TheDevl said:
But one man does not an entire consumer base make.
As for the temperatures, right now I'm at 28c with glass back and a case. Temperatures have never quite been a worry for me.
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I guess you are saying not enough people demand it so its not a category of product yet.
Temp would be around 5-10c less than glass back the way I have it set up. One of the beneficial aspect I have seen is phone cools down much quicker. It'll have an effect on longevity of the phone but its really not that big of an issue anyway with the higher temps on a glass back. I think the most important factor is the satisfaction of not having that dumb fragile glass back.

e4noob said:
I guess you are saying not enough people demand it so its not a category of product yet.
Temp would be around 5-10c less than glass back the way I have it set up. One of the beneficial aspect I have seen is phone cools down much quicker. It'll have an effect on longevity of the phone but its really not that big of an issue anyway with the higher temps on a glass back. I think the most important factor is the satisfaction of not having that dumb fragile glass back.
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To each their own, apparently.

If you're treating your phone respectfully, then the glass back should not be an issue. It is, after all, gorilla-glass, not just ordinary window-glass. If you're treating your phone roughly, then get a case or buy a different non-glass phone.
Right now glass and ceramic is en vogue in phone design. (see the top-end S10+ with its custom ceramic backplate) Particularly because it enables wireless charging without a buildup of static electricity. In a year or two they'll probably be on to a new trend, maybe leather as foldable phones start to mature. I actually miss those leather-backed phones that were around about 5 odd years ago.

eoraptor said:
If you're treating your phone respectfully, then the glass back should not be an issue. It is, after all, gorilla-glass, not just ordinary window-glass. If you're treating your phone roughly, then get a case or buy a different non-glass phone.
Right now glass and ceramic is en vogue in phone design. (see the top-end S10+ with its custom ceramic backplate) Particularly because it enables wireless charging without a buildup of static electricity. In a year or two they'll probably be on to a new trend, maybe leather as foldable phones start to mature. I actually miss those leather-backed phones that were around about 5 odd years ago.
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You are right. But I'm not looking for top end glass back on my g6. :S TBH even on s10 I would probably want to switch out the glass back. It seems absurd to me that I'm carrying around something so fragile. I would predict if there is a new trend, it'll be some sort of durable material like plastic. When people hear plastic, they think its cheap and reduces the vibe of the device. But there are different types of plastic. Phone companies could do fancy and functional phone body and back covers easily. I have no idea why they don't. They could use tough rubbery material for the body too where you largely won't need a case. But they don't. Some aspects of design isn't evolving at all with phones.

Mine shattered after fall from stairs, but I won't expect any phone to survive this with no damage taken.

oposiasty said:
Mine shattered after fall from stairs, but I won't expect any phone to survive this with no damage taken.
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That's true. But a back cover made of any other material wouldn't shatter.